What is Djibouti? A country located in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. Some would call this area a danger zone. But is it really?

Why You Should Go To Djibouti?

Djibouti – the only country name I’m aware of that contains a synonym for ass, that alone should be enough to justify a visit but if that doesn’t quite do it for you, there are a few other gems in this hidden in this little ‘Dubai of Africa’… Maybe you’re fascinated about climbing Africa’s highest point Mount Kilimanjaro,  which I’ve had done, (and I’m arranging a trip this year for friends! – check it out,) but why not also visit Africa’s lowest point in Lake Assal, Djibouti.. Such a stunning place this saline lake!

One of Africa’s Most Expensive Countries?

I was expecting Djibouti to decimate my bank account but alas, that’s not necessarily so. True it’s not Ethiopian prices but then where is?! Djibouti is expensive compared to Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, but there are ways in which you can make it cheaper.

I guess there are 3 main places which your trip to Djibouti will look to include. Djibouti city itself, Lac Assal and Lac Abbé. All of these are worth a visit for sure, although this is where Djibouti can begin to eat your cash :S

First of all I have a really good advice for you about how to get to Djibouti the best way.. Avoid the e-visa and expensive hotel booking like I paid for (cheapest hotel available was $50 that I HAD TO HAVE for the e-visa – no fake booking).. Here’s how you can do it better than me!

Good Travel Advice To Go To Djibouti

When I went to Djibouti the visa was a little harder to get than now, so I had to get the E-Visa to be sure. It was $60, and at that time there was a bug in the E-Visa-page, so you could only choose arriving my plane. I thought I could still take public transport from Addis Ababa without any problems (usually it’s not so important in most African countries!), so I hoped I could just get on a high-speed train from Addis Ababa to Djibouti.. Turned out I couldn’t! First of all they wouldn’t allow me, because my e-visa said arriving by air, secondly when I arrived to the train station two hours outside of Addis Ababa, they said there were no more tickets and that I needed to be book in advance and that the train didn’t go every day..

Damn it! How could I then visit ‘this booty’?! Off to Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa and a $160 ticket to Djibouti City same day with Ethiopian Airlines.. Ouch!

(What you can do now is get a easy Djibouti Visa in Addis Ababa for $30 and then go by fast train if you plan a little ahead, shouldn’t be too complicated!)

How To Get Around Djibouti?

Public transport? Small mini busses in Djibouti city, yep, but forget about it for the rest of the country! Public transport doesn’t exist in Djibouti.. You have three options:

1) Rent a car – costs around $75-$125 but you do need a 4 wheel drive, so that will be around the $100 mark

2) Go on a tour. If you have 6 people + you can go around various tour agents (there are loads in the city) and pay around $35 per person to go. Or if you’re feeling lucky, you can go on your own and hope to coincide with another group.

3) Hitchhike. I wouldn’t recommend hitchhiking at all here, because there are not many people/cars around in places like Lake Assal, Lake Abbe. You can easily be stuck out in nowhere for a long time in Djibouti, which is of course adventurous, but if you have a flight to make, it’s maybe not the coolest thing!

The Perfect Travel Guide (Djibouti)

My price guide for Djibouti would be like this: If you stay for 3 days or so and don’t visit the lakes, you’ll need around $130-140 to visit Djibouti. Extend that by a couple of days and visit the lakes, that figure will jump to $400 or so for 4-5 days (but it’s well worth it if you can afford it).

Djibouti:

Budget: Food and taxis are pretty expensive, but in general Djibouti is not as pricey as some would say. You can budget it to $25-$40 per day (excluding car rental)

Food: Street food and supermarkets allow you to eat for $2 – $4 per meal. Cheap restaurants are $6-$12 per meal. The French hangover in Djibouti means delicious pastries, croissants, pain au chocolate are in abundance here.

Restaurant: If you like a good restaurant, I recommend La Chaumière restaurant. Had some nice food there with my local friend Barryck, it’s a safe and beautiful place, but there was unfortunately a terrorist attack on May 24 2014, where two suicide bombers attacked the La Chaumière restaurant in this popular area in downtown Djibouti City. Nothing has happened since and they make some really good burgers!

Accommodation: The biggest cost. Start at $20-30 per night + (BUT that includes air conditioning which is almost a necessity in Djibouti!) I recommend the Horseed, with ice cold AC – just remember to barter hard and negotiate the price always!

Transport: Getting around the city you can use minibuses for next to nothing. Around the country, it’s pretty much nonexistent and you need car rental to visit the stunning lakes unfortunately.

People: Really cool people, although bring a French phrase book, English isn’t widespread

Weather: HOT AS HELL!!!!, bring sunscreen and drink plenty of water. Did you know Djibouti is the hottest country on Earth on average? 😉

Religion: Predominately Muslim, although in comparison to Somaliland it’s quite understated generally.

Currency: $1 USD – 180 Djibouti Francs. ATM’S do work with foreign cards although they’re not entirely reliable so bring cash (USD or Ethiopian Birr just in case.)

Visa: $30, not available on arrival by land. No problems getting it now in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Collect the same day if you ask politely.

I hope to come back to Djibouti again one day and to see a bit more of this ‘pearl of the African Horn.’

Gustav

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